Partition
by FlipWise
Summary: My final story and will also address a few things on my mind concerning Outsiders fanfiction.The gang we all know and love have been together for years but now they are all going to be seperated as each are being called somewhere else.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**Sadly, this will be my final Outsiders fanfic. I do have a couple reasons, but I'm just trying not to have a tantrum (LOL). Really though, I'm just frustrated with all the unoriginal fics getting so many reviews and when I try to be as original as I can, it just doesn't feel right or I don't get as many reviews as I would have liked. Okay, I guess I am having a little temper tantrum, but I'm just gonna put down my last story and move on to completely original stories as well as screenplays. So in this story, I'm gonna try to use some hidden metaphors to show what I don't like about some fanfictions these days. They're really not flames, just the way I feel.**

**Partition**

**By FlipWise**

**I do not own any characters from The Outsiders. They were created by the woman who inspired me to write stories, S.E. Hinton.**

The scenery seems to be an average day around dusk in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The weather was warm and birds were flying. This area however, was not the sunny side of town. This land was divided into two regions in order separate the richer and poorer. As the wealthier respectfully lived in the upper region known as the North Side, and the ones with less money resided in the bottom area better known as the South side.

At one house in the lower neighborhood, there was a teenage boy around the age of sixteen. He seemed to be working under the hood of an antique car clad in jeans and a white beater. After a few seconds of putting some last minute touches on the motor the young man closed the hood, only to see his best friend walking out of his house with a cold beer.

"Thanks, Soda," he said as his best friend gave him his beverage.

"No problem, Steve," he replied back as he hopped on the hood of the car to take a seat. Normally Steve would have become outraged at someone sitting on his prized possession. But this occasion would slide since the action was made by his best friend. After he took a sip of the beer, he turned his attention to Sodapop to inform him of the news that he heard earlier.

"Oh yeah. Two-Bit called before you came over. He said that he was coming by your house."

Sodapop looked at Steve with a confused expression. Two-Bit wasn't the type of guy to call and let you know he was coming by and even if he wasn't, everyone knew that the Curtis household was open to everyone since they always kept their door unlocked.

"Since when does Two-Bit actually call to let you know he's coming over?"

Steve shrugged and drank a little more of the beer.

"He just said that he wanted to tell everyone something. He wasn't as happy-sounding like usual."

Soda kept his eyes on his best friend, but this time with a worried expression.

"Do you think that something is wrong?"

"Don't know. I guess we'll see tonight. I reckon he'll come over when Darry gets off work."

"Well let's go on ahead over there so we won't forget."

"Hold on."

Steve finished the rest of his drink and then threw the empty bottle into the trees. With that, the best friend simultaneously entered the car and Steve turned the ignition. After the engine responded with its running noise it he put the pedal to the metal and took off down the street towards the Curtis household.

As the car moved on in the street the sun started to go down turning dusk into night. By the time the reached the Curtis household the street lights had turned on and Steve parked beside the house behind Darry's Ford truck.

They both hopped out to see the screen of the television shining through the window. Soda's younger brother, Ponyboy must have been home watching whatever cable program he usually pays attention to.

Soda and Steve walked into the house as Ponyboy greeted his brother and then attempted to greet Steve, but was only replied by ignorance. Pony continued to watch his television program while Steve and Soda continued to talk about various topics. Soon enough, Two-Bit came walking through the door and was greeted by everyone.

"What is it that you wanted to tell us?" asked Steve.

Two-Bit didn't reply with an answer, only a question.

"Is Darry here?"

Soda shook his head.

"He won't be home for another thirty minutes."

"Wait until he gets here."

Soda and Steve soon enough brought in another conversation, which was on girls. Normally Two-Bit would have added a lot more to the conversation, but he didn't give as much as he usually did. He still cracked jokes, but it was easily noticeable by everyone that he was being slightly different on this night.

Almost thirty minutes later, Darry came through the door and was greeted by everyone as Two-Bit was. This was no different than any other night. If the gang was not at the movies or a party, then they would be found at the Curtis household. Darry was about to walk back towards his room, obviously to take a shower and relax, but Steve held him up by announcing that Two-Bit had something to say to everyone. Almost at that moment, everyone's attention turned to the "joker" of the group. He took a sigh and told everyone the news he'd concluded this morning.

"Okay," he started. "I think my mom is going back to my dad."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Everyone stared at the second oldest member of the gang. Two-Bit's mother had been divorced for a very long time. Back when Two-Bit was only five years old and his sister was a new born. It had been over ten years since he had seen his father, and now there was a chance that his parents would create a family again!

"Two-Bit! That's good!" exclaimed Soda spreading a grin across his face.

Two-Bit only smirked, which was a rare occasion since he had a smile that would beat Soda's, and shook his head.

"It is, but if she does then that means I'll have to move with her."

"Come again?" asked Darry with a lifted eyebrow.

Two-Bit took a seat in the armchair as everyone's eyes were still on him.

"I heard them flirting on the phone early this morning after that hangover from last night. I heard my mom mention Maryland"

"So if you're mom gets back together with your dad then you and your sister will be moving to Maryland with her," concluded Soda

"Yup," said Two-Bit as he got more comfortable in the armchair. "It's not set in stone yet so we'll just have to see where it goes."

The rest of the night went on slightly as usual. Everyone would participate in a conversation or watch two of the teenagers play in a poker game. Still there was no doubt that in everyone's mind what Two-Bit had just informed them.

This carried on to the next day when Ponyboy was at school. The teacher was carrying on with the book they were reading in class, but the young man wasn't paying attention. He was too busy thinking about Two-Bit. What if Two-Bit did move? Soda would be the only one he could talk to, but he's been working a lot lately. He occasionally talks to Darry, but he works even more than Sodapop. There was no point at even bringing up Steve.

"Ponyboy!"

Pony's attention turned to the teacher who had just asked him a question.

"I'm sorry," he apologized and the teacher just responded with,

"Wake up."

Five minutes moved on and the bell rang signaling the end of class and ultimately the end of the school day. Before Pony could exit the classroom, the teacher asked to see him after school.

'Oh crap', thought Ponyboy. He thought he was getting in trouble for daydreaming in class. After everyone had left the class, the teacher asked him to have a seat. Could it be this serious?

The teacher didn't even begin what he asked Ponyboy to stay for. He just started grading papers. Why was he trying to kill time? This couldn't be about his daydreaming. Pretty soon, a familiar face entered the classroom. Mr. Syme, Pony's English teacher from last year, walked in and shook the other teacher's hand. Then they both turned their attention to Ponyboy. His stomach tightened.

"Hey, Ponyboy," greeted Mr. Syme. "How are you doing this afternoon?"

"Fine," he answered plainly. Still confused about what this conference could be about.

"That's good. Let's cut right to the chase. Do you remember that theme you wrote for me last year?"

Pony nodded. He remembered it as if it was a movie he just saw. It was a theme that he had written for a last minute English assignment. It was based strictly off of the events that happened last winter.

"Well after giving you your grade, I sent it to an old school friend of mine who now currently works at Deacon Literature School. Are you familiar with the school?"

This time, Pony shook his head. He was in no way aware of the place. The other teacher spoke out this time.

"It's a private school strictly made for learning how to create excellent literature. It's actually one of the finest in this region of the United States."

Ponyboy had an idea of what was going on, and his insides started to glow. Could he have been…?

"My friend enjoyed your story very much," said Mr. Syme. "And he showed it to their board of admissions and they gladly accept you with all first year tuitions paid."

Pony's heart nearly exploded. He was being accepted to a private school because of the story he wrote! This was excellent news. Mr. Syme continued,

"We have the forms right here. All you have to do is take this to your brother and fill out the necessary paper work. Congratulations Ponyboy."

The teenager nearly ran home from school. He couldn't wait to tell Darry and Sodapop the news. He sprinted as fast as he could to his home. The track team really came in handy as he made it home in record time.

Ponyboy nearly busted through the door. But through all the excitement, he forgot that Soda wouldn't get home until at least 5:30. With the shop closing at 5:00 and the boss making everyone stay thirty more minutes to make sure everything was clean and all the doors were securely locked.

Ponyboy just sat down and decided to re-read one of the books in the house. But happiness blocked his concentration on the story. He decided to just watch television. The excitement grew down over time but rose back up when 5:20 rolled around. Ten more minutes passed and the happiness lessened once again. Where could Soda be? A few more hours passed on and Darry came walking through the door. Pony instantly jumped off the couch.

"Darry! Darry!" yelled Pony.

"What!? Is something wrong?"

"No. My teacher sent a theme that I wrote last year to some private school and they want to go!"

Darry's eyes widened. He didn't fully comprehend what was going on, but knew what Ponyboy was saying. They both celebrated, together for the first time in a long time, and Darry picked his younger brother up and swung him around. It was a glorious night.

When Darry sat his younger brother back onto his feet, Ponyboy asked,

"Where's Soda. I wanta tell him the good news!"

Darry shrugged.

"I drove by the DX but the lights were off. He may be hanging out with Steve somewhere."

"Oh. Wait. You have to fill out these forms and mail them back. I'm going to go finish my homework."

"Alright. Congratulations, Pony. I'm proud of you."

Ponyboy turned around and smiled. That was the first time Darry had ever said that he was proud of his youngest sibling. Darry even felt good saying it. With all the motivational criticism he had given them for the past few years, it felt good to finally say it.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First off, I appreciate the reviews. Now here comes the hard part. See if you can get the metaphors. It may throw the story off a little bit, but I'll try my best to keep on track.

Chapter 3:

A car slowed down to a rundown motel near the borderline of Southside Tulsa. This car was familiar looking as Sodapop and Steve stepped out. Each with the same saddened look on their face, each with a letter clutched in their hand; Steve had a more firm grip on the mail.

Combining their money and using change they found, the bought a room in the motel. At nearly 12:00, Both Soda and Steve were sitting on the bed smoking a cigarette. They kept the back window open so the cigarette smoke would not become trapped in the small room. Steve carried a face that seemed as if he was ready to kill someone, while Soda sported an expression that was completely blank and was accompanied by a shaking knee.

Steve finished his drag, which was his last cigarette, and took a look at the letter again. The two best friends looked at each other simultaneously and Steve leaned back on the bed.

"Shit!" he nearly yelled. "That what it is. Shit!"

Soda merely shook his head. He wanted to agree and kept having to remind himself that this was reality and not some television show or someone else's problem. This was between him and Steve.

"I know. But we don't have a choice."

"We could skip town."

"With what? We barely have enough money to leave Tulsa. By the time we get to where we need to go, they would have caught us."

Steve only sighed and sat up. It was the saddest moment in their lives and the news they had just received was the most terrible thing that could happen to them.

"Darry, Darry!"

Ponyboy was shaking his older brother, who had fallen asleep on the couch with the forms he needed to read on his stomach. He sat up and rubbed his face. He must have fallen asleep while reading the semi-thick packet.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"6:05 in the morning," answered Pony. "But Soda wasn't in bed when I woke up!"

"What!" yelled Darry as he rose up quicker than he had wakened up.

"What are we going to do?!" asked Pony, worried about what could have happened to his brother.

Darry paced the floor. This was bad. It was a hard decision to make, but he had to come up with some sort of decision.

"We'll have to wait."

"What?"

"I know it sounds crazy, Pony. But Soda isn't going to be eighteen for a few months, so he's still a minor. Plus Soda has his head on straight. The only thing we can do is pray that he isn't hurt. If you hear anything at school, be sure to come straight to me afterwards. Okay. I'm going to leave early, to see if I can find him."

Ponyboy couldn't do anything but nod. He along with his brother could only pray that Sodapop hadn't been attacked.

Later on that day at school, Two-Bit was roaming the halls; still slightly quieter than usual. But only real friends of his would notice this transition in attitude. As he walked on, he heard a familiar name from a group of greasers.

Being rather reluctant to ask what was going on, he decided to eavesdrop.

"…Yeah. I didn't even think they were that close."

"So tell me what happened."

"How they hell would I know what happened in the room. "

"So nothing happened?"

"Oh they definitely…"

Two-Bit's eyebrow cocked. But that was only to hide the surprise inside. He had to get to the Curtis household and tell them what he had just heard. Meanwhile, at school Ponyboy had been keeping his ears pierced for news about his brother, but it was very peculiar. Everyone time he would walk past some greasers, they would stop and just stare at him. What did he do?

He was getting no luck from the hoods. As he walked towards the exit of school, he noticed a group of socs near the door. Maybe they would know something. There were plenty of greasers around, so he wouldn't have to worry about being jumped. Besides, ever since that rumble last year, socs have pretty much left him alone.

He walked past the group of socs, hoping to hear them mention something about what they did last night. Instead, they were carrying on a conversation about a new record that had been released earlier this week. Saddened, the young greaser continued on his way and exited out of the door.

Before Pony could reach the bottom of the stairs though, someone called out his name. He turned around and almost instantly was thrown into a fantastic daze. There standing was young girl with jet black hair with emerald-green eyes. Her clothing consisted of just plain attire. Nothing extravagant, yet it wasn't dirty and worn out. She must be middle class.

"I heard that you had just been accepted to a Writing School," she said when they suddenly came face to face.

"Uh….Y-yeah. I was?"

"That's cool. My name's Emily. Did I say your name correctly? Ponyboy, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's Ponyboy. How did you know about my theme?"

"Uh….Mr. Syme is my teacher. Hey I gotta go but…"

She gave the young man a sheet of folded paper.

"Call me tonight. And we'll talk more. Okay?"

"O-okay."

With that, she walked off. As she proceeded, she took one last look at Ponyboy and smiled at him. That made his heart glow even more.

A car pulled up to the Curtis house and Two-Bit stepped out. He walked inside the house and saw Soda lying on the couch, watching television.

"Soda! I need to tell you something!" he nearly yelled.

Soda slowly lifted his head to Two-Bit, with a slightly saddened look on his face.

"I gotta tell you something first."

Two-Bit raised his eyebrow again and Sodapop pulled out a letter that he had received just yesterday. He gave it to Two-Bit. His friend took a look at him and then swiftly began reading the letter. He stopped at one point and then took a look at Sodapop, who nodded and said,

"Both me and Steve."

Two-Bit didn't say a word, not a word at all. The silence was broken by the door opening and there stood both Ponyboy and Darry.

"I got off work early," he announced. "Soda, where were y-"

He stopped when he noticed the expression on Two-Bit's and then his brothers. Pony seemed to have examined their faces also.

"What's going on?" asked Darry.

Two-Bit looked at Sodapop and there was all eyes on him, like there was on Two-Bit the other night. Soda sighed, looked at his friend and then his brothers. A tear slid down his cheek and he said,

"Me and Steve have been drafted to Vietnam."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Darry had been sitting on the couch. After hearing the new regarding his brother, nothing else seemed important. Not even Ponyboy getting accepted to the private school. Negative thoughts poured into his mind. Why must everything be so terrible for them? It was already a struggle to keep them together with their financial problems, and then with Ponyboy being involved in a murder case that nearly split them apart too.

And now this happens, something that they couldn't control. All of that hard work was for nothing. It leads to this event present. Soda came walking up the hallway and fell onto the couch next to Darry. The eldest brother looked at his sibling and asked,

"Is Pony asleep?"

Soda nodded with response as well as,

"Cried himself to sleep."

The two sat there for a while. The only sound that could be heard was Two-Bit rumbling through the fridge for a beer. He came in after a while and fell into the armchair, another addition to sadness.

"When do you two have to go?" asked Darry.

"Not for a while," answered Soda and he handed the letter to Darry.

He read the letter and saw that it would be a while before the two best friends would depart to the war zone. Darry then sat up.

"Well until you two leave, we're not going to act like this," said Darry, almost in a commanding voice.

"We're going to make sure the both of you have something good remember. Right?"

Two-Bit put a smirk on his face and sat up along with Darry.

"I second that!" he yelled.

Darry looked down at Soda and continued.

"Savvy, Pepsi-Cola?!"

Darry reached his hand down towards his younger brother, whose blank face suddenly turned into smile.

"Gotcha!" he nearly yelled and grabbed Darry's hand. With only a quarter of the remarkable strength, Darry lifted Soda off the sofa with one hand and onto his feet.

"We'll make sure of it," said Two-Bit. "I'm going to go ahead on home. Be sure to call me if you need me."

"Definitely," exclaimed Soda with a grin, with that Two-Bit left the house, but when he reached the bottom of the porch, he remembered he had to tell Soda what he had heard at school. He turned around but suddenly stopped himself. He couldn't tell him now. He would have to find the right time.

"Besides," continued Darry. "I've got some good news anyway. Pony's been accepted to a private school for writing."

Sodapop's head jolted in his brother's direction and his smile increased.

"That is good!"

With that he lunged into his brother's arm, almost the same way Pony did.

"When did you hear this?"

"Just yesterday. Pony brought this packet home."

With that, Darry picked up the packet and handed it to Soda. He looked at the page that it was already turned to and noticed the address of school, which resulted in his facial expression changing again. Darry noticed and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"The school is in Georgia."

Sodapop handed the packet to his older brother and he re-read the part that Soda had noticed. He must have not gotten to this part when reading it last night, or he may have been too tired to notice the address when he began to read it.

"I don't think he noticed it either," pointed out Darry.

"We'll have to tell him tomorrow night. Right now, try to get some sleep. It hasn't been a usual day for us."

"Yeah…Well...G'night."

"G'night. And we will give you something to remember, Pepsi-Cola."

Sodapop just smiled again and trailed back towards his room.

The next day at school, Ponyboy walked through the hallways with the same saddened look he carried last night. Darry mentioned that they would have to give Soda and Steve something to remember before they are sent over to Vietnam.

'The hell with Steve,' he thought. Why did they have to draft Soda? Why him? He was the small connection between Darry and him. He belonged in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Not overseas!

"Hey Ponyboy."

The teenager turned around and noticed the girl that had approached him yesterday after school. She looked even better than before.

"Why didn't you call me last night?" she asked.

"Oh…Um…I'm sorry…um…I didn't catch…"

"Crystal…Just call me Crystal."

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't call you Crystal…Just something bad happened at home?"

"Oh really," she said sympathetically and she rubbed Pony's arm, which lightened him up a bit.

"What happened?"

"I-I really don't want to talk about it."

"C'mon," she pleaded. "You can tell me."

The bell rang suddenly which signaled that the students would be late if they didn't arrive to their classes in one minute. Before Ponyboy could take off, she said,

"I'll see you at lunch. Then we'll talk. Okay?"

Ponyboy couldn't do anything but nod and she walked off to her class. He stared at her as she strolled down the hallway. She was beautiful, and it was something about her that nearly made Pony spill out what happened last night.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So Darry's gonna a throw us a going away party or something?" asked Steve while he was under the car. Sodapop couldn't do anything but shrug. He had no idea what Darry would do.

"Not sure. He just said he's gonna give us something to remember."

"I wonder how's he's gonna pull that off," mumbled Steve and Soda didn't seem to hear, instead he nearly yelled,

"What the hell?"

At that statement, Steve rolled from under the car and looked in the direction of the window. No one was there. Puzzled, Steve looked at his best friend.

"What are you talking about?"

Soda looked back at Steve and then the window.

"There was some guy just staring at us in the window. And when I turned around to him, he just ran off."

Steve got up and walked towards the window, his tool still handy. He looked out the window and didn't see a soul. He was puzzled once again.

"Are you sure you're not seeing things."

"I'm positive."

Steve just shook his head and threw his tool down near the rest of his utensils.

"C'mon. I'll get you a coke. Maybe that will get your head straight. Have you had that weed again?"

"You know I don't do that stuff," said Soda with a smile. And he followed Steve towards the front of the store.

Meanwhile, Ponyboy was walking home from school. The whole way he was thinking the same thing that Soda and Steve were thinking. How would Darry be able to pull this off? What exactly was he planning? The young man shook his head. Darry was smart, he wouldn't do anything ridiculous. And besides, he really should do this for Soda…and he guessed Steve.

As he approached his home, he noticed someone sitting on his porch. He froze. He knew it couldn't be that person. He squinted his eyes and noticed that it was Crystal, sitting on the porch reading a book. For a close second, he though it may have been Johnny.

Johnny Cade, an old friend of his who died last year, was abused constantly and it resulted in the Curtis household becoming his second home, if you would consider his parent's house a home at all.

Memories of Jay Mountain and the lot appeared into the teenager's mind. It had been a while since he thought of Johnny. And it really did help him heal when he had finished writing that theme.

'The theme!' Pony thought. The theme was one of the reasons that Crystal started talking to him. And he was supposed to meet her at lunch. Why did he stand her up like that! He walked to the porch, expecting her to cuss her out like Sylvia did to Steve when he forgot one of their dates. That wasn't the prettiest thing in the world.

As he walked closer to the porch, Crystal noticed his presence and surprisingly, greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, Ponyboy. I didn't see you at lunch."

"Yeah…I'm sorry about that. I left the school to have lunch with one of my friends."

"That's okay. Come here. Have a seat next to me."

Pony's stomach twisted. He almost froze, but his nervous system allowed him to take a seat next to Crystal on the porch. When he sat down, she stared at him with the same exact smile she had when she first greeted him. He stared at his shoe for a while and then looked at her. He was instantly drawn in to her eyes and he stuttered out,

"S-so. What book are you…reading?"

She giggled and closed the book, with her thumb used as a bookmark.

"A book my brother owns. It's called The Carpetbaggers. I don't quite understand it though."

"Y-yeah. I've tried to read it and I didn't understand it either. My brother told me not to read it either."

"Oh really. What's your favorite book?"

There was only one book that he really read with a lot of heart.

"Gone With the Wind."

"Really. I thought it was a good book. So tell me."

Pony looked at her. What did he have to tell her? Did he forget something else?

"Tell you what?"

"What were you so mad about this morning?"

"Oh um…Well you see… my brother…"

And with that, Ponyboy told every little detail he could remember about last night. Which seemed pretty simple with everything being played back in his head like film was going through his ears. They talked for hours. They started off on politics, and moved on to movies which eventually carried them to more books.

As they were talking, Soda was dropped off at the house by Steve. Ponyboy was so deep in the conversation that he didn't even notice the car approaching. Crystal however, cut her eyes every now and then. Ponyboy didn't seem to notice that either.

Steve and Soda sat in the car, looking at the two talking.

"Well look at this here. Your little brother's actually talking to girls."

"Shut-up, Steve," laughed Soda. "He's talked to girls before."

"Then why do you look so surprised?"

"Because he hasn't talked to a girl like that before. He didn't even look up when we drove up."

Steve just shook his head and leaned against the car window. Wondering how Soda could defend such a little, crazy, kid. Soda hopped out of the car and turned around to his best friend.

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow at work."

"Alright."

Steve drove off and Soda walked past the two talking.

"Hey, Pony," he said as he walked past them and Pony barely said something back. Soda turned around and just smiled. His little brother seemed to be in love.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Almost fifteen minutes later, Ponyboy came strolling into the house; with a smile pasted on his face. Soda said a quick remark, but it didn't seem as if Pony heard that either. He just walked on back to his room. Sodapop just shook his head, smiling also, at his little brother's state of mind.

Later on in the night, Darry came walking in as Sodapop was cleaning dishes. As Darry, took a glance inside of the kitchen, his face showed confusion.

"Did Pony cook?" he asked.

"Nah. I offered to clean the dishes for him."

Darry shook his head at his younger brother's statement.

"I've told you Soda. You keep doing his chores for him and he'll never learn responsibility."

Soda laughed as he stacked a plate on top of another.

"You sound just like Mom."

Darry looked at Sodapop for a while. Soon enough, as much as he tried to hold, a grin of his spread across his face.

"Too bad I look like Dad. Either way, you can't do his work for him forever."

At that statement, it reminded Darry that Soda would have to go to Vietnam. It had been on his mind all that morning. As strong and upbeat as he seemed last night, he was hurt. It was the worst blow that he had ever received ever since the police appeared at the front door to inform him and his brothers of their parent's demise. Soda seemed not to have the same thought currently, but Darry was sure that it had crossed his mind constantly earlier that day.

"Besides," started Sodapop. "Pony's talking to girls now."

Darry lowered his eyebrows and Soda proceeded on.

"When Steve dropped me off, I caught him and a girl talking sitting on the porch talking. He didn't even notice us come up."

"Hm," said Darry as he walked into the living room and fell into the armchair. His body had been aching and he had been standing in the kitchen long enough for his legs to object.

"Have you seen her before?" Darry yelled into the kitchen, but now too loud knowing that if Ponyboy wasn't asleep then he could be eavesdropping.

"Nope," Soda replied back. "I haven't reached any conclusions, but I'm guessing she was middle class or something. She didn't have on anything Soc-like."

Darry didn't answer. He just gave it more thought. A girl that no one had ever seen before. It sounded too peculiar. He didn't know that many female greasers in town in high school, but Steve, Soda or at least Two-Bit would know her. He came to the decision that she must be middle class.

"She's pretty cute too," said Soda walking into the living room.

"Yeah. I just hope this doesn't do anything to his grades."

"Oh come on Darry," Soda nearly yelled with a smile as he collapsed on the sofa. "He's already gotten into private school. He should be okay from now on."

"Not exactly. He doesn't attend it until the end of this semester, so he has to keep his grades where they are. And even so, the scholarship only lasts for one year. He has to do excellent in his first year in order to get another one."

Soda didn't bother to reply to it. He instead stretched himself out on the couch. Normally if one of the other boys did it, he would have demanded that he get their feet off the couch. But Soda was an exception since he always walked around the house in his stocking feet.

The next day continued on as normal as Sodapop took the morning shift of the DX, since Steve was attending school. That day he had to work the cash register, which is awfully boring during this time of day since the usual customers are senior citizens and middle aged people who often scoff at the way Soda slouches in the morning. But this certain morning was different.

As he tiredly rested his head on his hand at the register, he heard the bell ring at the front door, signaling that a customer had just walked in. His boss had already gotten on to him about that so he fixed his stance to prepare for the customer.

This customer turned out to be a female. A cute one at that, a nice tall brunette. After she obtained herself a coke she walked to the Soda to purchase her beverage. When she approached the desk she looked Soda right in the eye.

"How are you doing?" he asked as she handed the correct amount of money to him.

She only smiled at him. With a slight, "Hm," she took her coke and walked out the door. Sodapop stared at her backside as she stalked off. He really wasn't the one to be conceited but that was the first in a long time that a girl did not answer him. Was it his breath? No, he always brushes after he eats.

It didn't stop there. Later on in the day, two girls, supposedly from the high school since school ended about thirty minutes ago, walked in and giggled at him. Now this was more like it. That's happened before and the outcome turned out to be very good. As they walked up to the counter, Soda stated,

"You both know you're looking you're best this afternoon."

The two girls looked at each other and then back at Soda. Then one remarked with,

"Aren't you taken?"

They both laughed and sat the exact money down for two Pepsi's and walked towards the door. At the same time as they were exiting, Steve was entering. Steve and the girls caught each other's eyes as they were proceeding their. The girls looked at each other once again and then laughed their way into the parking lot.

"What was up with that?" asked Steve as he walked towards the door to the garage, his DX shirt hanging over his shoulder.

"I don't know. Something's wrong, Steve. That's been happening all day today."

"Well maybe Two-Bit will know something about it. He damn-near bugged me all day today. Some tale about how he needs to see us at your house."

Soda only shrugged.

"I guess we'll see tonight."

After closing time, Steve drove to the Curtis household as usual; with Soda in the passenger seat. As they walked up the porch, they expected to see Two-Bit lying across the couch. And as soon as he sees them he will jump up and tell them whatever news he had.

But much to their disappointment, Ponyboy was on the couch talking on the telephone. Soda and Steve looked at each other. Soda laughed while Steve shook his head.

"Do you think he's running late or something?" asked Soda.

"Give him a call," said Steve as he walked into the kitchen.

Steve looked through the refrigerator, hoping to find a case of beer. He had forgotten that Darry no one in that house drank beer. Darry and Soda never had and he knew Darry would get Pony so bad if he caught him drinking. Slightly disgusted, Steve walked back into the living to see Sodapop hanging up the telephone.

"Is he coming?" asked Steve.

Soda just shook his head.

"No one picked up the phone."


	7. Chapter 7

**No reviews? C'mon y'all!!! **

Chapter 7

The next morning, Darry was dropping Soda off at the DX every morning. The beginning of the ride was mostly silent, with Darry keeping his eyes on the road and Sodapop looking at the events going on outside of the vehicle. To lighten up the mood, Soda turned to his older brother and exclaimed,

"So what are you doing for me and Steve?"

Darry grinned, but still kept his eyes on the road.

"You'll see."

"C'mon, Darry!"

"Nope. Sorry Pepsi-Cola."

"Aw man!"

With that, Sodapop imitated a small toddler pouting, complete with crossing his arms. This resulted Darry releasing a slight laugh, but his serious tone was still noticeable. Soda decided that he would get right to the point.

"So what are you so quiet for?"

Darry kept his eyes on the road, as usual.

"Just thinking about this girl Pony's talking to."

"Darry…C'mon. Pony's got a good head on his shoulders. And I don't see anything wrong with her."

As soon as Soda said that, it reminded him of a quote that his mother once told him about girls. She was telling him about practicing abstinence and said to keep himself away from sex no matter how the girls looked. She ended the lecture with "Looks can be deceiving."

Meanwhile at school, Ponyboy noticed Two-Bit in the hallway. Remembering how Sodapop and Steve were trying to get in contact with him last night, he literally ran to catch up with his best friend.

"Hey, Two-Bit. Where were you last night?"

Two-Bit turned around to him, still with the same attitude. Ever since the night where he informed the whole gang that his mother might go back to his father, he seemed less hyper, which didn't surprise any of his friends at all.

But people outside of the gang were being very spectacle. And Two-Bit knew it. They always saw him as this happy guy. Constantly cracking jokes and just acting crazy. But his friends knew better. Two-Bit was a normal guy who just happened to love life more than anyone.

"Yeah. Something really, really big came up-"

"And let me guess, you want everyone to meet at my house so you can tell them the news," joked Pony.

Two-Bit smiled and slapped his hand on Ponyboy's back.

"What the hey. I can tell you now. Well…my Mom told me and Sis last night that she's getting back together with my pops."

"Really! That's great….but then you'll have to move."

"Yeah, well that isn't all that bothering me."

With that Two-Bit just walked off and left Ponyboy there. But what was even more strange, was that Two-Bit walked through the doors of the school and into the world. Two-Bit would never leave school. Pony wanted to run up to him, but the bell rang. He made the quick decision that Two-Bit wasn't going to commit suicide and went to class. Besides after that class he would get to see Crystal…

Two-Bit continued to walk off campus and kept going for a while. Just thinking about how his life would change now. He spent his entire life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now he'll be heading to a brand new place.

As he walked on, he heard someone call his name. He turned the right to see Darry walking towards him, with his worker shirt hanging over his shoulder. He waved to the guardian as he walked towards him.

"Hey, Darry. On break?"

"Yeah. Actually, we're done for the day. The next houses won't be ready until tomorrow. So I've got until four o' clock to be free."

"That's good."

There was a slight silence between the two young adults until Darry spoke again.

"So what are you doing from school? I thought you liked it?"

"I do…It's just…well…"

Darry noticed that there was a problem and told Two-Bit to have a seat with him in his truck. As they got seated, Darry spoke again.

"Okay. What's bothering you?"

Two-Bit stared outside for a second and then started with,

"My moms getting back together with my dad."

"Oh really? That's good for her….Are you upset because you'll have to move?"

"No. Not really. I mean, when I do. I'll miss you guys. I truly will. But…I'm just worried about my mom."

Now it was Darry's turn to stare, Two-Bit continued.

"Besides your mom, my mom is the best woman I have ever met. She's taken care of me no matter how many times I've screwed up I've come home drunk, high, been jailed, held back in school, got in fights and stolen stuff. And I've yet to get kicked out of the house and or even be threatened by it."

"She could have easily been just like any one else's mom. She could have been an abuser like Johnny's, or walked out like Steve's. She could have even been some woman that I would never meet like Dally's. But she's none of those. I know that when Dad just left, she had to go through a lot. She could have even given me and my sis away. But she didn't. And if my dad does that to her….I can't see her going through all that again."

Darry just nodded. He knew how his friend felt. He knew exactly how his friend felt.

"Two-Bit…I know that you may be worried about your mom's well being when she goes back. Well, just remember this. If your dad doesn't want to be the man of the house, then she had another man to take his place."

Two-Bit looked at Darry and smiled. That really did light up Two-Bit's day. It also reminded him that his mother was a strong woman, with two strong children by her side.

"C'mon," said Darry as he turned on the ignition. "I'll let you hang out at the house. Soda cooked last night so there are plenty of leftovers."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Darry and Two-Bit reached the Curtis household with positive feelings. The talk that the two young adults had really did well to the both of them. No one knew exactly what was making Two-Bit so quiet, which slightly bothered all of his friends even if they didn't show it.

As the Ford pulled up to the house, the two noticed Steve's car in the driveway. Both Darry and Two-Bit looked at each other. School wouldn't be out until another 3 hours. What was Steve doing here? And also, why wasn't Sodapop at work?

The two got out of the car and walked into the house and their predictions were right. There were the two best friends, sitting right there on the couch.

"What are you two doing here?!" Darry asked, nearly in a commanding tone.

"The boss just told us today that he had jury duty. And he doesn't trust any of us to work the place while he's gone."

"Okay…What Steve? Decided to skip school?"

"Yeah," he answered simply and walked towards the back to use the restroom.

Darry just sighed and dropped his tools down near the door, knowing that he'll have to pick them up again when he goes for his second job. He took a seat in the armchair and relaxed. A grin spread on Two-Bit's face as he took a seat on the sofa next to Soda.

"You act like that's your chair," laughed Two-Bit and everyone else followed.

"Oh yeah!" said Soda scooting to the side opposite Two-Bit to get a full look at him. "You told me and Steve that you had something to tell us. But you never showed up."

"That's right," yelled Steve. "Spill it."

Two-Bit looked around for a moment and then a smile cracked on his face.

"It's actually kind of stupid that people think this…"

"Think what?" said Sodapop sitting up.

Two-Bit glanced at Darry, who had his eyes set on Two-Bit. He turned his head to Sodapop, then to Steve and told the news that he heard.

"I was walking by some greasers when we were trying to figure out where you were that night. And I heard them talking…"

There were all eyes on Two-Bit, but he didn't feel nervous at all. Previously he would have because of all of his worry about his mother, but now he felt like his old self again. And he would make the best out of the situation.

"They said that they you two rented a motel room and made out with each other. Then they went on to say that you too attempted to have sex."

"What the hell!!!!!" yelled Steve and Soda jumped up, nearly reaching the ceiling.  
"That's why those girls were laughing!" concluded Soda. Steve turned around to him.

"You mean that broad was giggling at me because she thought that we were making out. What the hell! No wonder Evie hasn't called me back. What kind of bullshit is this?!"

"You two need to set this straight," said Darry, with lowered eyebrows.

"Damn right," said Sodapop. "C'mon Steve. We're getting to the bottom of this."

With that, the two best friends (rumored couple) walked out of the house to set everyone's thoughts correct. Two-Bit turned back to Darry.

"I know it's slightly serious. But it is kind of funny," pointed out Two-Bit and Darry merely cracked a smile.

The two relaxed at the house. By the time 3:30 rolled around, Darry started getting ready for work. As he looked at the clock, he wondered where Ponyboy was. He usually comes home straight from as what Two-Bit and Steve told him once. He had to reassure.

"Two-Bit. Does Pony usually come straight home after school?"

"Yeah. Straight home."

So he was right. What could Ponyboy be doing?

"He's probably out with his little girlfriend," answered Two-Bit.

'Oh yeah,' thought Darry. That girl he had been going head over heels about. It was just something about that girl that made Darry suspicious. Two-Bit got up to go smoke a cigarette outside and just at that moment, Pony came walking through the door with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Darry. I'll be right back. I've got to go meet somebody."

With that Ponyboy started to head for the door but Darry stopped him with his voice.

"Go somewhere? Pony. You have to study."

"I've been studying all week, Darry! And my grades have picked up. Besides, I was already accepted to that private school!"

"Still, you have to keep your grades up or they may change their mind!"

"They won't change their mind because I didn't study one day! And even that won't affect me much!"

The two stared at each other more, and then Pony spoke up.

"C'mon Darry. I've got to meet Crystal."

"Crystal? Is this the girl you've been drooling over? Pony, you can't let girls get in your way of studies…"

The rest of Darry's lecture sounded like one of the adults on the Peanuts to Pony's ears. He didn't care what Darry said. He was madly in love with Crystal and he wanted to see her. Finally, his oldest brother stopped and concluded with,

"I've got to go to work. I'll see you when I get home."

The oldest Curtis brother walked out of the house with his tools and got into the truck. As he started up the car, he hoped that he got through to Pony and he wouldn't disobey him. He was wrong.

Seven minutes after Darry had taken off, Pony ran out of the house. Heading over towards the park where Crystal said she would meet him. When he reached the area, he sat down on one of the park benches and waited for his love to reach him. As he waited, he had visions of them going to the Nightly Double. And he was a year away from driving, so he would drive her anywhere she needed. He had completely forgotten about his opportunity to go to private school. But he could get deeper into his vision, he suddenly blacked out, which was lead by a hard hit on the back of his head.


End file.
